Can carrier



y 1953 F. D. EMPKIE, JR 2,637,476

CAN CARRIER Filed Aug. 24, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 L5 as May 5, 1953 F. o. EMPKIE; JR 2,537,476

CAN CARRIER Filed Aug. 24, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 25 A my 12 14 l5 Aw Q2295 jwmw z Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN CARRIER Frederic D. Em-pkie,"J1-., Sioux City, Iowa,as-

- Signor i to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, 111., a c'or'poration of Delaware Application Augus't24, 1950, Serial No. 181,275

'2 Claims.

-Thepresentifivention' relates to a'can carrier,

formed or romaine sheet material, having an handle-"portion to be folded oversubstantially parallel to the top of the carrier without impairing the subseqiient efficiency of the carrier.

"One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a can carrier of the type referred to which can be formed'from a single blank of paperboard suitably creased "and cutso that the parts may be secured by adhesive'and staples, or other securing means, to produce the finished carriers in fiat, collapsed form ready for delivery toa user. Another object of the invention is to secure the handle of the carrier in such a manner that after the carriers are filled with cans or similar articles they maybepaclred into larger cartons, or in any desired manner, with the handlesfol'de'd substantially flat against the-top tion with the accompanying drawings, showing" aprefei'red illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 isa perspective View of a can carrier einborh ing thepresent invention illustrating the carrier in assembled position ready to receive the cans forwhich it is designed;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the can carrier with oneend can in position in the-carrier;

-l -ig.'3 is a cross'sectional View, taken alon 'Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective vieivoi the can carrierpartially disassembled and showing the partition element reieased'from the handle .portions and displaced downwardly;

FigLB -is'a cross sectional view, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

-Eig 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing'aplurality' of thecan carriers embodying the 1 present invention as they are packed into a large 4 container" with the carrying handlesfo'lded sub- --stantially flat against the tops of the carriers;

-Figi'l is a fragmentary cross sectionai VlGW of i the earrying handle folded flat against the top of the can carrier illustrating the slippage between the partition and the handle forming flanges; and

Fig. --8' -is-' at-plan View of 'a preferred form of 2 the blank from which the can carrier embodying the invention is manufactured.

The can carrier of the presentinventionis preferably formed to provide a convenient' cariyout for a retail store customer to take some six or more cans of beverage or food,- and is particularly designed so that the filled carriers'may be packed in shipping containers for transportation from the packer to the wholesaler, jobber or 'retailer. The carrier is made with a carrying handie that may be folded fiat against the filled carrier, and a centrally disposed reinforcing partition extending between the flanges forining-the handle is particularly designed. to permit "the partition to slip relative tothe handleflanges when the handle is folded. This relative sliippage between the partition and the handle flanges protects the partition against-being" torn by the staples or other fastening elements securing-the ing handle forming-flanges Sand- 9, a centrally disposed, vertically extending partition =i"!l,*an*d agl-ue'fiap H.

The horizontal bottom wall i panels are each formed with a pair of 'arcuate aut=onttabs2 and I3 which are'fo'lded upwardly out of the panels through an angle of approximately so as to underlie cans 'insertedinto the carrier and engage the inner radius of'the'flangesbf the outer cans to prevent accidentallateral displacement of the cans-after they have been-posi- 'tioned in the carrier. The edges of tli'e top flanges of the outer'cans aresimilarly engaged by tabs it and it formed byfolding-theend'portions of horizontal top Wall panels 6 and"! newnwardly and inwardly alongscore lines-provided for the purpose.

The carrying handle is formed bytheiian'gs ti and it which are folded downwardly along'the fold line it. The upper portion ll of the centrally disposed vertical partition'lfl is positioned between the flanges 8 and 9 to form a'reinforee- 'ment for'the handle. A'pluralit'y of 'staplesor similar fastening elements lEi-is driven through the flanges 8 and 9 to secure 'them' together tightly so that when the handle is folded'downwardly against the top or the carrier thefiangesfmo've as a single unit. The staples maybepos'it-idrie anywhere above the fold lines [9 andtt' which connect the flange 8 to the horizontal top wall panel 6 and the flange 9 to the panel I, respectively, but are preferably positioned immediately adjacent the fold lines l9 and 29.

When a plurality of filled carriers is transported from the packer to the retailer it is desirable to load them into shipping containers 2 I, as shown in Fig. 6, and the handles of the individual carriers are preferably folded over against the top of the carriers to save packing space. The carriers may be shipped to the retailer, if desired, in collapsed condition and filled by the retailer so that loading of the filled carriers in shipping containers is unnecessary. However, even under these conditions some retailers may desire to fill a quantity of carriers and stack them so that the handles are folded against the top of the carriers. When the handle is folded downwardly against the top of the carrier the fold lines I9 and 29, and the fold lines between the side wall panels and the top panels, permit the flanges 8 and 9 to move in either direction without binding. The portion ll of partition [0, however, is relatively fixed at its bottcm edge because the cans hold the bottom wall panels 2 and 3 rigidly. The lower edge of partition 10 is connected to panel 2 by a fold line 22 and to panel 3 by the glue flap I to which it is adhered. Consequently the upper portion ll of the partition can not move with the same freedom as flanges 8 and 9.

In order to permit the upper portion I! of the partition to be folded with the flanges 8 and 9 without causing the partition to be torn by the staples l8 or similar fastening elements, an aperture 23 is formed in the portion I! of the partition in alignment with the place where each staple I8 is to be driven. The apertures 23 are each longer than the staple, and are wide enough to permit the staples to secure the flanges together without penetrating the material of the portion ll of the partition. When the carrier handle is in upright position the staples is are positioned approximately centrally of the apertures 23, as shown in Fig. 5. When the handle is folded out of its vertical plane the partition III is folded around a pivot formed by the lower edge of either flange 8 or 9 and the inner edge of the adjacent top wall panel 6 or I. As the handle is folded along fold lines l9 or 20, respectively, the

upper portion 11 of partition [9 must move a greater distance than the flanges 8 and 3 because the lower portion of partition I9 is relatively fixed, and, consequently, as shown in Fig.

7, the upper portion ll moves relatively to the i flanges 8 and 9. Such movement would cause the staples l8 to tear the partition ID if the partition was secured firmly to the flanges 8 and 9 by the staples. The upper portion I"! of the partition due to the provision of the apertures 23 is thus enabled to move relatively to the flanges 8 and 9 which eliminates the possibility of tearing the partition by the staples.

To facilitate carrying the filled carrier the flanges 8 and 9 are preferably provided with partially out out tabs 24 and 25 which may be folded to form a hand hold. The upper portion I! of partition I0 is preferably provided with an opening 26 to register with the opening formed by folding the tabs 24 and 25.

While the present description sets forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, certain changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not descriptive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A can carrier composed of material such as paperboard and comprising, a pair of parallel can receiving compartments separated by a centrally disposed partition and a top wall over each compartment, the inner edges of the top walls terminating adjacent to the opposite faces of said partition, a pair of handle flanges, one extending upwardly from each of the inner edges of said top walls and being joined to the respective top walls along score lines substantially parallel to one another and being foldable together about said score lines from a position where they extend substantially vertical to the planes of the top wall to a position where planes of the flanges and the planes of the top walls are parallel, said handle flanges having a height not exceeding the distance from the central partition to the side wall, the said partition having a handle reinforcing portion hinged to the partition along its upper end on a line adjacent and parallel to the handle flange score lines and extendng upward ly between said upwardly extending handle flanges for reenforcement of the handle, fastening means passing through and between said handle flanges for relatively permanently securing the same together, said partition portion being formed with a pair of spaced openings located above the hinge line connecting the handle reinforcing portion and each including a downwardly facing edge overlying and in spaced relation to said fastening means, said partition portion and said edges being relatively freely movable downward and upward between predetermined limits and between said handle flanges relative to said fastening means, whereby said handle flanges are secured together and said partition portion is disposed therebetween without direct penetrating engagement by said securing means and whereby said handle may be folded into parallel relation with respect to said top walls without tearing said partition portion.

2. A can carrier of the character described comprising, a single integral length of material such as paperboard, cut, scored and folded to provide a bottom wall, a top wall, opposite side walls connecting the bottom and top walls in spaced relation to one another, a partition member extending upwardly medially of said bottom wall to a place medially of said top wall and in a plane generally parallel to the planes of said side walls, a pair of parallel handle-forming flanges disposed and projecting upwardly from and medially of said top wall and having'their planes substantially parallel to the plane of said partition the said flanges having hinged connection with said top wall along parallel score lines for movements together from said position parallel to said partition to a position substantially parallel to said top wall, said partition having a handle-reenforcing portion hinged thereto along its upper end on a line adjacent and parallel to said flange score lines and projecting upwardly between said flanges, said handle-reenforcing portion having a pair of downwardly facing edges disposed in spaced relation to one another and lying within the areas of the adjacent faces of said flanges, and securing means such as staples passin through said flanges out of contact with said reenforcing portion of said partition and adjacent to and spaced from said downwardly facing edges and in the path of movement of said edges on movement of said reenforcing portion downward in a vertical direction relatively to said flanges when said flanges and reenforcing portion are swung together about said score lines to said position paralleling said top wall, said bottom, top and side walls and said central partition forming a pair of compartments adapted to receive two sets of cans confined Within the space between the top and bottom walls, and said handle flanges having a height not exceeding the distance between the central partition and the side wall.

FREDERIC D. EMPKIE, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number 

